Florida's consumer confidence up, contrary to national mood

Donna Gehrke-WhiteSun Sentinel

Floridians are feeling more upbeat about the economy than the rest of the nation with consumer confidence growing in the state in March, according to a monthly University of Florida survey released Tuesday.

UF's consumer confident index rose three points from the revised February reading of 73, while the national mood soured this month, according to the Conference Board, a private research group.

"This rise [in Florida] was unexpected,” said Chris McCarty, director of UF’s Survey Research Center in the Bureau of Economic and Business Research. "The fear has been that the combination of the payroll tax expiration and sequestration would dampen the recent growth in consumer activity. But Florida confidence is sharply out of line with that perception.”

In fact, Floridians' overall perception of being personally better off financially than they were a year ago went up four points to 68. "The last time that figure was reached was in 1992 after the 1990-91 recession," McCarty said.